Meet the incredible Tyreis Holder, a multi-disciplinary artist, visual storyteller and more

We met Tyreis several years ago in 2018, whilst taking part in a run club sponsored by Nike and facilitated by GUAP Magazine. Since then, we’ve seen their artistic practice continue to grow and develop over the years. Read on as we interviewed Tyreis to find out more about their work currently being exhibited and find about more about their ‘labour intensive’ yet fulfilling creative process.

What was your artistic process?
“I created this piece using a process called Tufting and made it over the span of a month or two. It’s really labour intensive, standing on my feet for hours into the early hours of the morning. I designed this digitally first, mapping out colours, and patterns, projecting it onto backing fabric, and tracing/freehanding areas. This piece was highly detailed so it was quite hard to draw every single line, relying on my intuition and eye to create a piece that flowed. It was fun to do and to lose myself in.”

“‘Foolishness follows feet‘ was based on all the foolishness that follows you, especially into your sacred spaces, and the rituals we create to cleanse and protect ourselves. This was made using a punch needle, hair braiding, and fabric print. I used the BBC news TV logo as a starting point, drawing, distorting, and subverting the image in photoshop which I then turned into a repeat pattern. I created the pattern for the trainers and attached all the pieces, then filled the shoes with clear quartz, fake crystals, mango leaf, and herbs such as red raspberry leaf and chamomile, exploring ideas of spiritual practices and the nuances within finding resonance within your being via physical happenings.”

How did you come up with the inspiration for this piece?
“This piece originally functioned as a set for Tora-i’s acoustic live, who wanted a dripping rug room. The project excited me as I was struggling creatively/mentally at that time, feeling really disconnected with making and this propelled me to that. I listened to her music on repeat when making this piece, and ‘Below’  really spoke to me, this idea of spiraling, struggling with being present, avoidance, and to ‘pacify’ oneself. It really alluded to this disconnection I was having with the world, the pollution of my personal space, digital trauma, finding my feet as a young person, and stop-start attempts of self-care. I named this piece for Ti, as it was originally for Tora-i, but also for ‘Ty’, myself, as this piece, along with ‘Foolishness follows feet’, reconnected me with me, the excitement of making, with textiles and became very grounding.”

What do you hope the audience feels when they see your work?
“One thing I hope the audience feels is this need to want to touch the works, as that speaks to this connection we have with touch, and the grounding and playful qualities textiles have to offer. Most importantly, I hope the audience will feel whatever they want to feel when they see it and let that flow. Whether joy, inspiration, love, sadness, or angst. Even if someone hates it, I want them to feel that, as it’s an opportunity to connect with yourself, to question why you hate or love something, which speaks to this work, which themes disconnection and reconnection.”

How do you want to develop this work in the future?
“I want to create these works on a larger scale with matching garments in which I can perform my poetry. I aspire to create entire rooms that can be interacted with and walked on, transforming spaces fused with other elements of my textile/poetry practice. I also work with the community, delivering textiles/poetry workshops to young people, predominantly primary age in schools, and art gallery contexts, and recently working with a group of young people within CAMHS. I want to create some of these works for them, for families, and for the neurodivergent, as they have great sensory potential. To subvert sadness into an element of play that I think the world is missing sometimes – especially in this here Babylon.”

The exhibition runs till the 17th of July 2022, make sure to check it out!